Mortgages Blog

What?! Prince in foreclosure?!

I know the foreclosure crisis has been super-bad, but now it's even badder, given that it's knocking on the door of the baddest, most ridiculously funky musician to ever emerge from the frozen north: the Minnesota Landowner Currently Known as Prince. Or MLCKP, if you prefer.

The Carver County Sheriff's Office reports that the multitalented, multiplatinum Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has fallen behind $368,382 on the mortgage to his 20-acre former manse in Chanhassen, the Minneapolis suburb that he's called home since 1980. A sheriff's auction is set for May 13.

Has Prince been paying property tax like it's 1999? Photo by PR Photos

According to the foreclosure notice in the Chaska Herald, His Paisleyness bought the property in 1994 for $605,000. But you won't find him mixing tracks there these days; he leveled the place in 2005, leaving only the tennis court and gatehouse. The property is currently valued at $1.15 million.

Prince's publicist denies the report. USA Today quotes a local legal firm as saying there is "a decent likelihood" that The Artist will send The Payment before The Auction.

Given that Prince coughed up $1.3 million last year in current and delinquent property taxes on 14 parcels in Chanhassen, it would indeed seem unlikely that MLCKP would let the place go for a song.

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143 Comments

yasmine

June 17, 2011 at 9:01 pm

when Michael J had issues everyone media out let dogged him...now that its Prince... the news is just whispered...

Huntfarm

June 17, 2011 at 11:29 am

Any links available to a place where this author ever admonished top economy-wrecking bankers to pay THEIR bills?

Triple C

June 16, 2011 at 5:33 pm

Now i know why he called his tour in Los Angeles 21 days, i guess that's how long he's got to come up with the money. It's time artist start getting paid not in promises but real money. Prince should be the wealthest entertainer in the world. Maybe he just does'nt like the neighborhood.

Tina

June 16, 2011 at 10:41 am

I'm sure Prince doesn't sit down and write his own bills. He's probably relying on someone else to do it. And THAT person has probably been neglectful. That's how a lot of wealthy people get messed up with tax evasion and the likes because they are assuming the person they hired to handle that is doing so. Luckily, for a great many wealthy folks they still have enough money to just pay off whatever back-monies are owed. But for those living on the cusp of doing well and being wealthy, it sometimes takes its toll in a very devastating manner.

David

June 15, 2011 at 6:48 pm

I liked TR's response. I agree with it 100% And as one of the now extinct middle class I could only wish for 1999!

Stacy

June 15, 2011 at 5:53 pm

So is Prince broke? I wonder why he hasn't paid the mortgage. He's filthy stinking rich - or so I thought.

Alberta

June 14, 2011 at 5:34 pm

Wow I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe if he change his hairstyle & go natural then get rid of that outfit I'd send him some money.

rainmkr172

June 14, 2011 at 4:35 pm

Left naked and broke....hope he at least kept his rasberry beret to cover up

TR

June 14, 2011 at 10:18 am

I think MacDonald's (author) condescending and ridiculing tone in this article flys in the face of serious problems facing Americans today. MacDonald assumes, in a cold, brash rhetoric that there are no extenuating circumstances and that it was only stupid partying and spending that caused Price's woes. The article peels back MacDonalds layers and exposes what he is. Reads like a trash rag article.

Kay’s an Idiot

June 13, 2011 at 6:31 pm

Anyone who takes out a mortgage for a tax break is dumber than Kay. Take the amount of taxes you paid. Divide that by your income before deductions. This is called your effective tax rate. Now, take your effective tax rate times the amount of mortgage interest you paid. This is the tax deduction you have. So a 200K mortgage at 5% pays roughly 10K a year in interest (non-compounding for ease). My effective tax rate is roughly 12% due to a number of deductions I have for owning and operating a business out of my home. 10K x 12% = 1200.

Does it make sense to give someone 10K a year to get 1200 back (which will decrease as your payments cover more principal) on your taxes? Especially when you can afford to buy the home outright?

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